


Blindness

by Pricefieldnerd



Series: Teen Titans: The Written Series [8]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Blindness, F/F, F/M, Gen, Multi, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-12 20:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15348192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pricefieldnerd/pseuds/Pricefieldnerd
Summary: Stephanie becomes blind after a terrible tragedy. Can Raven and her friends help her, or will she be blind forever?





	1. Blindsided

Chapter 1: Blindsided

   Stephanie's ears rang in discomfort.

   She groaned as she tried to open her eyes. Only to her surprise, she couldn't see anything. Blinking a couple times, she tried to focus her vision, just assuming there was something covering her eyes. But she felt nothing on her face. Freaked out now, Stephanie sat up, only to feel dizzy and lightheaded and fell back.

   "Steph?"

   Stephanie tried turning her head, but her neck started hurting, and she couldn't see her boyfriend, Cyborg, when he called her name.

   "Don't try to move." He said.

   Stephanie, unable to say anything, just stayed still. She waited, hardly daring to breath, until Cyborg finally sighed.

   "Steph-"

   "No, she's not." A new voice popped up. Stephanie recognized that monotone voice instantly. "Cyborg, she can't be."

   "Rave, I haven't even said anything yet besides her name," Cyborg said. "But what _you're_ sayin' is completely false. What _I'm_ gonna be sayin' is true."

   Stephanie shook nervously, unable to say anything. She only sensed the Titans, not the Team, so she understood why everyone else was so quiet.

   Stephanie heard Raven walk closer to her and she felt her friend's hand rest on her arm.

   _I'm sorry, Steph..._ Was all she got to say before Cyborg started speaking.

   "Steph... I don't know how else to tell you this..." Stephanie's heart beat quicker, afraid. "You... you are... blind."

   Stephanie felt her eyes widen.

   _You are blind._

   A haunting voice taunted her mind.

   _You are blind._

She felt herself shaking uncontrollably, and she knew her friends were staring at her, nervous.

   **_You are blind._**

Her face was wet with tears. After all she's been through- the death of her family, Terra, Eclipse- she knew she couldn't live this down.

   **_YOU ARE BLIND._**

Suddenly a firm hand gripped hers, and she stopped crying.

   "Stephanie, you need to calm down, ok?" Cyborg's reassuring and calming voice echoed in Stephanie's head. "Everythin' is gonna be fine."

   For the first time, Stephanie spoke. "N-no it's not, Cy! I'm freaking out, I'm freaking _blind_ , and there's nothing we can do!" She paused, suddenly thinking. "What the hell am I gonna do...?" She murmured.

   _Was... Was this supposed to happen to me?_ Stephanie thought. _Oh, God, why? Why? Why? **Why?**_

"Wait."

   Stephanie instantly recognized Robin's voice. She felt uncomfortable at the way his voice sounded.

   "Maybe we can help." He murmured.

   "How, Robin? How in the name of Azar can you guys help me?" Stephanie shouted, finally sitting up. She felt Raven's surprised stare as Stephanie said 'Azar'.

   "We'll find a way." Cyborg said before Robin could say anything else.

   "But how?" Stephanie asked. She could feel more tears escape her blinded eyes and fall.

   "Through me." Raven said clearly and unexpectedly.

   "What are you talking about?" Beast Boy asked, confused.

   "I mean that I'll use my powers to let Stephanie see again." Raven explained. "Somehow."

   "Raven, are you sure?" Starfire asked.

   "I'm the only one here with healing powers, Star." Raven murmured. "I'm the only one who can help her."

   "What about Megan and Artemis?" Cyborg asked.

   "They're somewhere else." Robin informed him. "They've got their own missions, too."

   "See?" Raven said.

   "No." Robin told her.

   "What now?" Raven seemed annoyed.

   "Raven, you're gonna end up hurting yourself if you help her too much." He explained.

   "And when has that ever happened?" Raven asked, challenging him.

   "Remember that time when we were trapped in Kole's place and you were trying to heal Stephanie's broken arm?" Robin fought back. "Or that one time when you gave Starfire all of your power and energy to save her before we got to Kole's home?"

   "Or maybe that one time your parents died? You tried to help then!" Raven shouted. Suddenly she stopped, wide-eyed and realizing she couldn't take her words back.

   Stephanie knew Raven hit a nerve on Robin. She could sense it.

   "Don't you ever talk about my family like that!" Robin yelled at her.

   By now, Stephanie didn't care if she was blind or not. She just wanted her friends to stop fighting.

   "Stop!" Stephanie screamed. Instantly, the two bird-named heroes stopped arguing. "I don't know if you two dumbasses are arguing because I'm blind or because you like to argue with each other, because it sure in the hell seems like it! It doesn't matter! Just shut up!"

   "Yo!" Cyborg shouted. "I think that's enough, Steph."

   "Just-" Stephanie stopped herself. She stopped the argument from Robin and Raven; she can stop the argument with her and her boyfriend.

   "I just don't wanna argue." Stephanie whispered.

   "And I get that, but we need to listen to Raven." Cyborg told everyone.

   "Look, I'll stay in here with Stephanie for a few days and try to help her," Raven said.

   "Rave, I know you care about me and all, but I can still care for myself," Stephanie said.

   "Well, duh, but I just wanna do something." Raven told her.

   "Alright, well, I'm gonna just go eat waffles or something," Stephanie murmured. She hopped off of the bed and began walking towards the door, trying to count her footsteps while remembering the exact spot of the walkway.

   "Steph, wait!" Robin called out. "There's a-"

   Stephanie hit the wall with her face. She lost her balance and fell backwards.

   "Wall there..." Robin finished his sentence awkwardly.

   "Well, this is gonna be fun." Raven muttered sarcastically.

   "Yay me." Stephanie said.

_Yay me. I'm blind. I'm clumsy. I'm an idiot._

_I'm still Fergalicious though. And I'm still Stephanie. I'm still me._

_But who knows if I'll be blind forever._

_Ah, hell._

 


	2. Strength

Chapter 2: Strength

   About a day passed and Raven and Stephanie followed each other around. Stephanie followed Raven around so she could get around the tower. Raven, on the other hand, followed Stephanie to not only help her, but to heal her too.

   But Stephanie knew how much energy it was costing Raven to help her. Her friend ran into counters, tables, walls, even, and the stairs. And, thankfully, that's all she has been doing. But Stephanie knows that this was only the beginning.

   "Rave, I got it." Stephanie would always say when her friend tried to help her with _everything._

   "I'm just worried about you, Steph." Raven kept saying. "You're blind, and me using my powers is the only way to help you. But just because it's the only way doesn't mean it'll work. You may be blind for the rest of your life."

   Later that day, Stephanie was in her room practicing the song _Shatter Me_ on her violin. Raven helped her a bit with certain notes and strings, but listening to the music was the important part to Stephanie.

   "God, I love _Lindsey Stirling_." Stephanie murmured.

   "You're-" Raven cut off, yawning. "Really good, Steph."

   "Tired?"

   "A little."

   "Rave, you haven't slept for over twenty-four hours." Stephanie said.

   "Still got... you..." Raven mumbled.

   "Er, what?" Stephanie asked, confused.

   "Gotta heal you..." Raven said, yawning again.

   "And you still gotta sleep." Stephanie said.

   Suddenly, Stephanie felt Raven lie her head on her shoulder.

   "I guess I'll just sleep on you." Raven murmured.

   "As long as you get some sleep." Stephanie smiled. She closed her eyes -even though she was blind- and fell asleep.

 

   Stephanie woke up, expecting to see a blinding light in her bedroom. Instead, she woke to utter darkness. Surprised and confused, she focused, trying to seek light. Sadly, she remembered she was still blind.

   There was a sudden movement on Stephanie's shoulder, and she realized it was Raven.

   "Steph? You awake?" She asked.

   "Yeah. Everything ok, Rae?"

   "I'm fine." Raven murmured.

   "O-ok, well..." Stephanie mumbled.

   "You ok?" Raven asked. Stephanie noticed that her friend's voice sounded forced.

   "Ok, what's up?" Stephanie asked, worried for Raven.

   "Nothing." Raven defended herself.

   "Rave-"

   "I'm fine, Steph!" Raven shouted. She coughed lightly right after.

   "Raven, are you getting sick or something?"

   "No."

   "Rae, you don't sound too good." Stephanie said.

   "Ok, ok fine!" Raven said. "I'm exhausted, ok? I...I didn't sleep. I needed to heal you."

   "Raven, just because I'm blind doesn't mean you can kill yourself to let me see again. And plus, it's not really healing, it's more like helping." Stephanie added.

   "Heal, help, whatever." Raven mumbled.

   "Why were you coughing?" Stephanie asked unexpectedly.

   "W-what?"

   "Why were you coughing?" Stephanie repeated.

   "I'm just not feeling well." Raven whispered.

   "Raven, really?" Stephanie yelled. "I'm blind, yeah, but your powers can't help me in a matter of days. I'll probably be blind for months before your powers work! Get some sleep and stop healing me."

   "Helping." Raven corrected her, but yawned again.

   "I don't care right now. Sleep." Stephanie ordered her.

   "Alright." Raven murmured. Stephanie felt her friend position herself on the small sofa in her room. She stayed awake until she heard Raven breathing softly and slowly, indicating she was asleep. Carefully and quietly, Stephanie stood up and went to walk out the door.

   Suddenly, she heard the window break and right after she felt her leg explode in pain. Grunting in pain, she fell to the floor.

   "Stephanie!" Raven yelled. Stephanie heard her grunt and fall to the floor.

   "Raven!" Stephanie yelled. She suddenly heard the door open beside her.

   "I got'cha back!" Sighing with relief, she recognized Cyborg's voice. His sonic cannon rang off and obviously hit the enemy- whoever it was. Stephanie didn't care about the bad guy right at that moment. She just cared about Raven.

   "R-Rae?" Stephanie whispered.

   "I'm fine, Steph," Raven replied.

   "What happened?" Robin asked, walking in.

   "Just your average everyday citizen tryin' to kill us." Cyborg said. "It looks like they had a gun."

   "So he shot Raven and Stephanie?" Robin asked him.

   "In the leg, yeah. Thankfully he didn't shoot them anywhere else AKA the head." Cyborg murmured.

   "So that was it?" Raven asked, sitting up. "Just some idiotic person trying to kill us with terrible aim?"

   "Seems like it." Cyborg confirmed.

   "But why pick now?" Raven went on. Stephanie knew the others were confused by their quietness.

   "Stephanie's blind and I was sleeping." Raven said. "At that moment they attacked. Coincidence?" Raven asked.

   "Someone knew." Robin realized.

   Stephanie gasped as Cyborg picked her up. "It's ok, Steph." Cyborg murmured. "Just me." Stephanie nodded.

   Robin went over to help Raven, but she shrugged him off. "I can fly."

   "Alright, but keep your leg still." Robin told her. She nodded and flew with Robin.

   Stephanie groaned, feeling heavier pain in her leg. She tried to move it, but a shot of pain zoomed through her body.

   "Don't move your leg." Cyborg ordered.

   "Cyborg..." Stephanie murmured. "What happened...?"

   "You got shot in the leg?" Cyborg seemed confused. "Steph, you were there."

   "N-no..." Stephanie mumbled. "How... how did I become blind?"

   Cyborg went quiet for too long.

   "Cy?"

   "Steph, we need to see your leg." Cyborg murmured, setting her down in the medical bed.

   "Cyb-" Stephanie stopped, hearing a dreadful ringing in her ears.

   "Steph?" Cyborg asked.

   "Ringing..." Stephanie mumbled. Suddenly feeling lightheaded, she shook her head multiple times, trying to get rid of the feeling.

   "Rave!" Beast Boy yelled from the other side of the room.

   "R-Raven..." Stephanie murmured. "What...?"

   "Steph, what's wrong?" Cyborg asked.

   "Dizzy..." Stephanie whispered.

   "Both you and Raven lost a lot of blood from your leg. I think the bullets hit a muscle or somethin'. Maybe that's why Raven passed out." Cyborg explained.

   "No... I-I feel..." Stephanie's words sounded muted.

   "Don't talk, ok?" Cyborg's comforting voice melted in Stephanie's mind.

   "Rae..." Stephanie whispered. Her mind spun around, making her feel as if she was on a rollercoaster.

   She wanted to say something to Cyborg, but her mind clouded, and she felt lightheaded and dizzy. Stephanie felt her eyes roll back, and she let them. She passed out, but not without worrying about Raven.


	3. Remembering

Chapter 3: Remembering

   _Stephanie groaned as she felt her eyes open. Suddenly, they flipped open._

I can see! _Stephanie thought with joy. She then realized that her thoughts echoed around her. She took a quick look around, but her vision became blurry._

_"Raven..." Stephanie murmured._

_"Steph?"_

_Stephanie turned around quickly, surprised to see Raven standing behind her._

_"Rave?" She asked. "What are-? What just-? Are we-?"_

_"Stop." Raven ordered. Her voice echoed like Stephanie's. "We aren't dead, but I have no idea where we-" She stopped._

_"Raven?" Stephanie's concerned voice brought an eerie echo among them._

_"No..." Raven whispered._

_"What's going...?” Stephanie trailed off as she looked in front of them. Her eyes went wide as she realized what was happening._

_"You're reliving the moment you became blind..." Raven barely murmured._

_Stephanie watched, horrified, as she, Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg tried holding up the crumbling building for people to get out._

_"This part's gettin' too heavy." Cyborg called._

_"We gotta make sure everyone's out." Stephanie said to her boyfriend._

_"I'll check." Raven said, struggling with her powers._

_"No, I'll go." Stephanie said._

_"Steph-"_

_"Raven, seriously! We lost you too many times already! And I am not gonna lose you again." Stephanie argued._

_Raven stayed quiet for a moment while Stephanie's heart beat fast. "Fine, you win. Just be careful. We've almost lost you quite enough times, too, you know." She said._

_Stephanie nodded, flying to the back of the rubble. "Anyone here?" She asked. Suddenly rocks and rubble came flying down on her. Flying fast, she made it to the edge before a huge piece of the building hit her head, and, grunting, she blacked out._

_"Stephanie!" Raven shouted. She and Starfire ran to dig her up, while Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Robin ran behind them and tried to find her using scanners._

_"Don't leave me." Cyborg kept whispering while trying to dig Stephanie out._

_"Here!" Raven called, sounding breathless. Carefully, the Titans pulled Stephanie out of the debris._

_"Stephanie?" Starfire's worried voice carried over to now-blind Stephanie's ears._

_"H-her head's bleeding." Raven reported._

_"Let's get her back to the tower." Cyborg told her._

_Raven nodded, picking Stephanie up and teleporting to the tower._

_"And that's when you woke up." Raven murmured while the dream-like flashback faded away._

_Stephanie was speechless. Now she remembered. It all came back to her._

_She was blind because she didn't want Raven to look for anyone._

_Suddenly, she realized that Raven was gone and so was the whole scene of the city. Stephanie was left in utter darkness._

_"Free at last!" A hauntingly familiar voice rumbled. Stephanie's eyes widened instantly, feeling as though they'd pop out of her head._

_"D-d-don't hurt me..." Stephanie stuttered, trying to find where the horrific voice was coming from._

_"I am no longer after you," The dark shadow mumbled, its yellow eyes glowing. "I am after Raven. She must die!"_

Gasping, Stephanie flung her head up, only to see that she was trapped in darkness once again. _What am I, Jayfeather from the_ _Warriors_ _series?_ Stephanie questioned. _Only able to see in dreams..._

"Steph?" A familiar voice asked. She recognized Cyborg.

   "What?" Stephanie murmured.

   "I was able to get the bullets out of you and Raven." Cyborg explained. "But you won't be able to walk on your legs for the rest of the day."

   "Raven?" Stephanie whispered, still trying to get used to the blindness again.

   "I'm right here." Raven told her. Stephanie sensed her friend floating next to her.

   "Ugh... S-shadow..." Stephanie rubbed her head.

   "Got a headache?" Cyborg asked.

   "Sorta..."

   "Go find her something," Raven told Cyborg. "I'll watch over her." Cyborg nodded and ran off to find something. Stephanie sensed Raven pull up a small stool and sit down.

   "He's back, isn't he?" Raven asked.

   Stephanie just nodded, speechless of how she knew.

   "You said 'shadow', and you acted completely freaked." Raven murmured as if she could read Stephanie's mind. "Last time you seemed like that, you-know-who almost killed us. Even after a year, I haven't seen you this scared."

   "He did kill _you_." Stephanie whispered. "But you came back."

   "Still, what'd he say?" Raven asked.

   "He didn’t want to kill me anymore." Stephanie told her.

   "That's a relief." Raven said, sighing.

   "Eclipse wants to kill you." Stephanie whispered.


	4. Shadows

Chapter 4: Shadows

   "Hell. No." Raven murmured.

   "Hell. Yes." Stephanie replied, sighing.

   "I don't believe this. I trust you, Steph, don't get me wrong, but I feel like he shouldn't be here." Raven said, frustrated.

   "Believe it." Stephanie told her. "He's back and wants to-" Stephanie choked a sob. "Kill you..." She finished quietly.

   "He can't." Raven said.

   "He will if he did before. Don't you remember, Rae? He killed you!" Stephanie shouted.

   "Calm down." Raven ordered. "L-let's not talk about Eclipse right now. I need to focus on you. Tell me now, or forever hold your peace." Raven murmured. "Can you see anything- even the faintest light- besides darkness?"

   Stephanie took a moment to answer, trying to see if there was the thinnest light anywhere.

   "N-no. I can't see anything." Stephanie answered.

   "Damn it." Raven mumbled.

   "Sorry." Stephanie murmured.

   "It's not your fault, Steph." Raven assured. "I need to try harder."

   "Don't hurt yourself!" Stephanie yelled, and then gasped as she saw bright yellow eyes in her dark vision.

   "Steph?" Raven asked, but Stephanie hardly heard her.

   "Once I regain my strength, your friend is dead!" Eclipse laughed.

   "No!" Stephanie shouted, shooting power in front of her. She blinked and Eclipse's eyes were gone.

   She suddenly heard Raven grunt and fall. "Raven!" Stephanie called, trying to wave her hands to find her.

   "I-I'm here." Raven barely spoke. "Why'd you do that?" She asked.

   "D-do what?" Stephanie asked, confused.

   "You hit me with your powers." Raven said, getting up.

   "Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Stephanie gasped.

   "No need to be." Raven murmured. Stephanie felt her friend sit next to her on the medical bed.

   "What happened?" Raven asked. But before Stephanie could reply, she sensed Cyborg come back.

   "I got some medicine for the headache, Steph!" Cyborg walked in cheerfully. "Hope it'll make you feel better."

   "T-thanks." Stephanie murmured, taking the Tylenol pill Cyborg gave to her.

   "Feeling ok?" Raven asked. Stephanie nodded.

   "I'm gonna let her sleep." Cyborg said to Raven. "And you better get some sleep, too." He added.

   "But I-"

   "No 'buts' about anythin'," Cyborg interrupted his friend. "Get some sleep." He repeated. Stephanie sensed Raven's anger quickly fading away.

   "I'll check on her tomorrow." Raven promised Cyborg.

   "And so will I." Cyborg murmured. The door shut behind them and they were gone.

   Stephanie was alone in the room.

   She thought of everything that happened. And it had happened fast. From being blind, to finding out Eclipse is back and wants to kill Raven.

   Emotions overwhelmed her. Stephanie couldn't hold back a sob, so she didn't try. She sobbed and sobbed and sobbed until no tears were left.

   "P-please," Stephanie whispered, her voice shaking. "Don't k-kill Raven..."


	5. Rockin' Out

Chapter 5: Rockin' Out

   The next day, Stephanie woke to complete darkness, like usual. She suddenly sensed someone beside her.

   "Rave?" Stephanie asked.

   "Huh? What?" Raven mumbled.

   _Did she sleep at all last night?_ Stephanie wondered. "You didn't sleep last night, right?" Stephanie asked her friend. Raven stayed quiet for too long.

   "Raven!" Stephanie snapped. She could sense her friend's shocked emotions. Her out-of-control, shocked emotions.

   "I... kinda slept." Raven murmured.

   "For how long?" Stephanie wondered.

   Raven took a moment to respond. "About an hour."

   "Rav!"

   "Or less." Raven whispered. "Look, I'm scared for you, Steph. I need to do something. Anything."

   "I get it," Stephanie said, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder. "But hurting yourself and wasting your energy and strength on me isn't helping."

   Raven stopped. "Can you see anything?"

   The question caught Stephanie off guard. "I told you, all I see is black nothing!" Stephanie remembered the line from _Victorious._

   "Steph, try harder." Raven told her.

   Stephanie concentrated, trying to find the faintest light. Suddenly, she felt her eyes widen.

   "I-I'm seeing something!" Stephanie yelled in excitement. "But it's... blurry."

   "How much can you see?" Raven asked her.

   "Like a small... I-I can see part of the bed behind you, but that's all." Stephanie stuttered out.

   "At least you can see something." Raven sighed.

   "You need to sleep." Stephanie ordered her.

   "I-"

   "If you want to still help me, then go over on the other bed and sleep so you're not that far." Stephanie told her.

   Out of options, Raven sighed. "Fine."

   Stephanie suddenly had a question in her mind that had been concerning her for days.

"Rave?" She asked.

"What?" Raven mumbled, and Stephanie could tell that Raven was trying to help her but still sleep.

"If I can see a bit, and you said that your powers might take months before working..." Stephanie trailed off. "Raven, how much are you hurting yourself for me?"

   Raven stayed quiet for a while.

   "Raven!" Stephanie yelled.

   "Alright, alright!" Raven shouted. "I've literally been killing myself to let you see again."

   "Just stop! I can deal with seeing just a bit, I don't care! Stop killing yourself, please!" Stephanie begged.

   "Stephanie-"

   " _Please_!" Stephanie cried.

   "I don't want to see you hurting," Raven murmured. "But clearly hurting myself to try and help you is taking the opposite effect. And I can't stand to see my friends hurting." She stopped, and then added, "I can't stand to see _you_ hurting."

   They both stayed quiet for a while, and then Stephanie said, "Sleep, please. I don't want you to keep hurting yourself for me." Stephanie waited until she heard the soft, almost-silent breathing of her friend, indicating that Raven was asleep. Then Stephanie sighed softly and stared at the ground.

 _What do blind people do?_ Stephanie wondered. _I can barely see anything. I mean, I can see enough, but not enough to read or watch something. And God forbid I go anywhere without Raven._

 _But she's helping me._ Stephanie told herself, angry that she was upset with Raven. _I can't... I can't get mad at her when she's just overprotective like Mom-_ Her thoughts stopped as she thought of her family.

   Her dead family.

   Killed because of Eclipse. And it didn't help to know that he was alive somehow and out to kill Raven.

   _Eclipse is back, I'm blind, Raven's literally killing herself for me... What else can go wrong?_

   Suddenly, she heard the window crash on the floor. Scared, Stephanie activated her powers, noticing, barely, that Raven jumped up from the bed.

   "Beast Boy!" Raven shouted, running over to him. "What happened?"

   Groaning from obvious pain, Beast Boy answered. "T-Terra..."

   Anger surged through Stephanie, but before she could do anything, Raven ordered her to stay there.

   "But Rave-" Stephanie tried to protest.

   "Stephanie, listen to me!" Raven yelled, grabbing Stephanie's shoulders. "W-we almost lost you enough times from Terra _alone._ I'm n-not taking that risk again!"

   By now, Stephanie could tell that Raven was... crying.

   "Rave, stop." Stephanie murmured. "Stop beating yourself up. Stop arguing. Stop crying. Stop killing yourself for me. Just _stop_."

   "But I-"

   " _Stop_." Stephanie commanded, her voice turning sharp. Suddenly, Raven pushed herself forward and hugged Stephanie so tight she couldn't breathe.

   "R-Rave..." Stephanie gasped out.

   "D-don't. I- Steph, I- we love you too much to even take a risk of losing you again." Raven whispered. "P-please, for me. Stay out of this."

   Stephanie did as she said. Raven smiled once at her, and then flew off. Beast Boy had also gone back to battle. Stephanie was alone.

   She stood there, feeling useless, but knew it was for the better.

   "But we keep losing you, too, Raven." Stephanie murmured, a few tears flowing down her cheeks. "And me?" Stephanie stopped for a second, thinking of her whole life and what she has come to be. Her anger only grew. "I'm not taking the risk of losing you either." Stephanie told herself.

   Stephanie quickly flew out the window, joining in the fight. Everyone was fighting Terra in the sky. Beast Boy was a pterodactyl and had Cyborg on his neck. Starfire held onto Robin, and Raven flew alone. Terra was standing on a floating rock. _As long as I can see a little bit, I can fight!_

She shot blue power right at Terra. Thankfully, Stephanie's power knocked their enemy back.

   "Steph!" Raven shouted. "What are you doing?"

   "Fighting just like you." Stephanie told her, not taking her half blind eyes off of Terra. Suddenly, to Stephanie's surprise, Terra gasped slightly at her, and then smirked.

   "You're blind, aren't you?" Terra taunted.

   Stephanie's eyes widened. "H-how do you know?" She asked.

   "Isn’t it obvious? Your eyes become clouded when you’re blind." Terra said. Stephanie didn't know what to do or say. She didn't have the chance.

   Terra smashed a huge boulder on her head, sending her down into the water. Lightheaded and hurting, Stephanie tried to see some light, but failed. Flashbacks zoomed through her head from the day she was blind. Her head hurt, and her eyes were straining to see something. Anything...

   Suddenly, Stephanie felt someone grab her and hold her tightly while swimming up. _Raven!_ But both of them were dragged down as Terra pulled Stephanie's foot.

   Stephanie's lungs screamed for air, so she tried to breath, only to have a throat filled with water. Trying to see the top, she strained her eyes. But she was completely blinded by the water. Her senses lost their uses, and Stephanie tried to breath, but could not. She almost blacked out until Raven, who held onto her, swam to the top. Both gasped for breath.

   "Raven...?" Stephanie gasped out, her voice raspy. Both of the Titan girls held onto each other, careful not to slip back under the water.

   "What did I tell you?" Raven screamed. "I told you to stay in the med room! Not fight!"

   "I just wanted to help..." Stephanie whispered. Raven hugged her tight, which surprised Stephanie.

   "W-what if I'd lost you again?" Raven cried.

   "Why are you-" Stephanie coughed some water before speaking again. "Why are you so emotional?"

   "Because I love you and I don't want to lose you." Raven responded immediately.

   "Rave..." Stephanie barely spoke.

   "Just please, don't do that to me ever again." Raven murmured.

   "I-I wo-" Suddenly, Stephanie's throat was filled with water again as Terra yanked her down.

   Stephanie punched Terra in the face, but only got the same hit back. They both kicked at each other until Stephanie shot her with her powers, knocking her back a few feet. Quickly, Stephanie tried swimming back up to Raven, but once she got back to the surface, Raven wasn't there.

   "Raven!" Stephanie screamed, trying to find her. She felt lightheaded and dizzy. "R-Rave..." Stephanie gasped out. Her vision went blurry, and she realized she slipped underwater again. Air suddenly hit her, and Stephanie breathed it in.

   "I gotcha." A new voice popped up. Stephanie realized it was Robin.

   "What...?" Stephanie murmured.

   "You were sinking down and I could tell that you couldn't stand that." Robin answered.

   "Thought you hated me?" Stephanie whispered.

   "I was suspicious of you, that's all." Robin told her. "Kinda hard to trust newcomers after Terra. Speaking of, where is she? And where's Raven?"

   "I-I don't kn-" A thought suddenly hit Stephanie and she widened her eyes. "Terra's gonna drown Raven!" Stephanie yelled, diving underwater. She found Raven battling Terra immediately.

   _Raven!_ Stephanie called using telepathy.

   _You can't survive down here, Stephanie! Go!_ Raven ordered.

   _Not without you!_ Stephanie shouted back. She quickly kicked Terra down towards the bottom of the ocean, and used her powers to push her further down. Grabbing Raven, Stephanie tried swimming back up, but her weight along with her friend's was too much.

   Raven tried swimming up with Stephanie, but they were both underwater for too long and had fallen weak.

   _Robin, Star, Cy, B, we need help._ Stephanie contacted the others. _We can't breathe..._

Suddenly, Stephanie couldn't see anything, and she knew why. _We're drowning..._ Stephanie realized as darkness began to swallow up her senses.

   "No!" Raven yelled, her voice sounding muted and awkward because of the water. She held onto Stephanie and swam up with the rest of her strength.

   They both gasped for breath as soon as they hit the surface. Cyborg had immediately held onto Stephanie, and Beast Boy got Raven. Quickly, they all swam to the edge of the land by the tower.

   Everyone was gasping by then, especially Stephanie.

   "Steph, calm down, ok?" Cyborg tried to talk to her. "You aren't dead. You're alive. So is Raven. So are we all. You're fine, we're fine. Slade took Terra back, and they hopefully won't bother us for a long while. We're fine, we're alive."

   But that's not the reason Stephanie was freaked.

   They had gotten back safely, but Stephanie saw Eclipse looming over the water out in the distance.

   "H-he can't be back, he can't kill her!" Stephanie shouted. Raven stared at her, wide-eyed. The rest of the team also stared, but in confusion.

   "Who's back?" Robin questioned. "Who's gonna kill who?"

   "Eclipse is back and he's gonna kill Raven!"


	6. Protect

Chapter 6: Protect

   "No he won't!" Beast Boy shouted.

   "I-it's the truth." Raven murmured, closing her eyes.

   "Why haven't you told us?" Robin asked.

   "Because Stephanie told me just yesterday." Raven answered.

   "Why didn't-"

   "I needed to sleep." Raven interrupted her boyfriend.

   "Well, you could've-"

   "Stop!" Stephanie shouted, interrupting Beast Boy. "Just stop bombarding her with questions! I'm the one who knew first, ok? When I fell asleep last night, I had a flashback dream, and I saw what happened when I became blind." Stephanie explained. "Right after, before I woke up, Eclipse invaded my dream and it turned into a nightmare. He said he was gonna kill Raven."

   "Yeah, well, I'd like to see him try." Raven told her, opening her eyes and staring at her.

   "He's done it before!" Stephanie shouted. "I saw him! Out in the water, when we were swimming back. He was there!"

   "Are you kidding me?" Beast Boy yelled. "If you knew, why didn't you say anything? If you would've told us sooner, maybe we wouldn't be freaked about Raven! She might die later on if we're not careful because of you!"

   Tears escaped her eyes as she stared, horrified, at Beast Boy. "I-in case you weren't aware, Beast Boy, we were drowning back there! How could I possibly tell you then? I only just regained my normal heartbeat!" Stephanie stood, facing her green friend. "And I'm scared, too! Do you honestly think I would keep this from you guys on purpose? I was completely freaked when I first found out, and I couldn't calm down enough to tell you guys or even form my thoughts into words! Raven only knew because she said she never saw me that freaked out since Eclipse almost _murdered_ the both of us!"

   "But-"

   "I can't do this anymore!" Stephanie screamed. "I love and care about Raven just as much as you all do. So do you honestly think- even for a second- that I would purposely hurt my _best friend_? _Someone I love more than anything?"_

   "I don't think you'd hurt her." Cyborg murmured. "You n' Raven have grown to be closer than Robin and Star are."

   "I also agree, Stephanie." Starfire smiled. "I know you well, and I truly believe that you would not hurt our friend, ever."

   "I agree, too." Robin said. "You've earned our trust over you, Steph."

   "It's not her fault she didn't tell anyone, because honestly I would've tried to hide this if I was her. Besides, I've hid it before." Raven stood up. "Or you would've found out like the whole Trigon thing."

   "I-I'm with you, Steph." Beast Boy told her. "Sorry I snapped. I'm terrified."

   "But we all are. Eclipse isn't as strong as Trigon, but he _is_ hella strong." Stephanie said. "He killed Raven once; he'll do it again if he has to."

   "He almost killed you, too." Raven stepped in. "It wasn't just me."

   "He stabbed you in the _chest_!" Stephanie turned around to face her friend, tears streaming again. "He only stabbed me in the stomach. You were hurt worse! _He killed you_!"

   "And I get that!" Raven shouted back. "But we all care about you, too, Steph. Yeah, I was hurt worse, and I still don't know why, but you almost died too!"

   "How about we replay that moment?"

   Everyone froze. The Titans all turned around, wide-eyed and scared. Stephanie was shaking as she gazed in front of herself.

   "Hello, Raven," Eclipse mumbled. "Did you miss me?"

   "You... You stay the hell away from us!" Raven shouted.

   "I can tell that you all missed me. Oh wait," Eclipse rumbled. "Your friends never met me. Excuse my impolite manners. My name's Eclipse and I'll be killing your friend."

   Stephanie didn't think then. She just acted. She quickly put up an ocean blue force field over them all besides Eclipse. But the enemy shot many shadows and shadow swords at the force field, making Stephanie weak. She fell on one knee, unable to stand.

   Suddenly, one of Eclipse's shadow swords shot through Stephanie's force field, making Stephanie fall completely while holding her head. She grunted in pain as Eclipse shot more shadow swords to take down the force field.

   "I-I can't keep this up!" Stephanie shouted, her head exploding in pain. "It's too much, my head hurts..." Her voice felt forced, although it was just her concentrating on her powers. "Make him stop..."

   Raven ran over towards Stephanie and did something that Stephanie never saw coming. Raven put her hands on her friend's head and began to use her energy and power to help Stephanie.

   "R-Rave, don't." Stephanie barely spoke.

   "You need to keep this- Ugh." Raven cut off, and Stephanie could sense she was in a bit of pain. "Keep this force field up. I would try to make one but I-I can't. I used most of my power to help you."

   "What about Star?" Stephanie asked.

   "She doesn't have powers like us. She can't put up force fields, Steph." Raven explained.

   "Raven- Gah!" Stephanie grunted and gasped as she fell on her side. Then it all flew into her. Memories from before.

_"What are you, an alien?"_

   _"Mom! Dad! I'm home!"_

_"Danny!"_

_"I will give you exactly one day to run."_

_"Thanks, Cora."_

_"Raven?"_

_"Your friend will die."_

_"I have my reasons."_

_"Why don't you trust me?"_

_"You're my best friend, you know that?"_

_"You are blind."_

_"You are blind."_

_**"You are blind."**_

**_"YOU ARE BLIND."_ **

****

****

_"We've lost you too many times, Raven! I-I'm not taking that risk again!"_

   Stephanie grunted, opening her eyes. Anger filled within her. She stood up, facing the Titans. Facing her friends.

   "I just want you to know that you were the only real friends I've ever had. The best _family_ I have _ever_ had." Stephanie smiled, a few tears dripping down her face. "You were there for me when no one else was."

   "Steph, don't talk like that." Raven murmured, wide-eyed. "You sound like you're-"

   "Gonna die?" Stephanie asked. "Huh. This would be an interesting way to die. Fighting shadows."

   "Steph, don't." Cyborg whispered. "Don't do this."

   "Better than letting you die." Stephanie mumbled.

   "We're a team. We're fighting together." Robin stepped forward.

   "I wish we could. But last time that happened I-" Stephanie stopped for a minute, tears pouring down again. "I-I dragged Raven out in that. She died because of Eclipse. Well, almost. It was my fault."

   "No it wasn't!" Raven exclaimed.

   "Then whose fault was it? Starfire's? Beast Boy's? Robin's or Cyborg's?" Stephanie asked. "It sure wasn't yours."

   Raven only stared, wide-eyed at her. "Just don't hurt yourself." She murmured, lowering her head and closing her eyes a bit.

   Before any of her friends could protest, Stephanie made a small hole for her to fly out of from the force field, and then sealed it back up.

   "Look here, you dumb shadow," Stephanie said to Eclipse. "You're gonna have to kill me before you even touch my friends."

   "Just another obstacle in the way of the main goal." Eclipse muttered.

   "Oh, so I'm just a thing now?" Stephanie asked. "Wrong again, Eclipse. _You're_ the thing. I'm a person."

   "A person that needs to be removed from existence." Eclipse said.

   "Try me." Stephanie said, narrowing her eyes. Eclipse instantly shot many shadow swords at her, but she knew everything. Stephanie easily dodged them all.

   Just then, one shadow wrapped around her neck, chocking her. She tried shooting power at Eclipse and even kicking him, but nothing worked. He wouldn't let go. She felt herself getting weaker by the second, and her powers started fading. Stephanie wished she could at least keep the force field over her friends.

   "Her powers..." Raven whispered from below. "T-the force field... It's fading... She's dying!" Quickly, Raven flew out and hit Eclipse with everything she had left. Eclipse let go of Stephanie, and she fell to the ground, panting.

   "Danny..." Stephanie murmured, remembering her brother.

   _My brother who died from Eclipse._ Stephanie thought.

   "He's dead... Danny's dead," Stephanie gasped for breath. "And Eclipse _will_ die because he killed my brother." She starting to fly back up, but someone stopped her.

   "Don't even think about it." Cyborg grabbed her arm, holding her back.

   "Cy, lemme go!" Stephanie begged her boyfriend. "R-Raven can't handle Eclipse alone. She'll die like before!"

   "Then we'll all fight." Cyborg said clearly. "This may be your enemy, Steph, but we're a team. We do things together. And you have no idea how much you mean to me." He added.

   Stephanie stared into his eyes. Her mind went blank, and she leaned forward and kissed him. They kissed for at least a minute, and then separated unexpectedly. Stephanie had grunted and fell to the floor, holding her head.

   Gasping for breath, Stephanie opened her eyes. Her heart suddenly raced, excited.

   "I-I can see!" Stephanie shouted, happy. She went to stand up, but pain instantly went through her side. Grunting, she fell, wondering what happened.

   Suddenly, Stephanie looked up and saw that Raven got shot by a shadow sword in her side. _How can I feel her pain?_

   "Raven!" Stephanie yelled. Quickly, Stephanie flew by her and shielded them both from Eclipse. A gigantic blue bubble surrounded her, Raven, and the Titans on the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, Stephanie noticed Raven stumble to the ground.

   "Rave!" Stephanie gasped, running over to her.

   "I-I'm fine, Steph," Raven murmured. "I'm tired, that's all."

   "Your side..." Robin barely spoke.

   "I'm fine." Raven repeated.

   "No, you're not!" Stephanie screamed, angry. "You're practically killing yourself to let me see again! Which, by the way, I can now. So you can stop dying for me!"

   "Y-you can?" Raven asked, standing up with Stephanie.

   "Yeah," Stephanie answered. "Just stop hurting yourself."

   "As long as you don't get killed." Raven murmured.

   "I won't." Stephanie promised. Stephanie didn't know what she was doing or even thinking. She just pushed herself forward and kissed her friend. Raven, of course, was surprised and wide-eyed. It only lasted a few seconds before Stephanie backed up.

   "I won't." Stephanie repeated her promise. She flew up to Eclipse, leaving Raven wide-eyed and staring at her as if she had lost her mind.


	7. Truth

Chapter 7: Truth

   Stephanie didn't regret it at all. She didn't regret kissing Raven.

   But for now she had to take her mind off of that. Stephanie had to extinguish this shadow.

   "Aww, how sweet. Kissing your new girlfriend?" Eclipse teased.

   _Just ignore his taunts,_ Stephanie told herself. "We're friends. And you aren't gonna kill her."

   "I just need to kill you first." Eclipse said.

   "Try it." Stephanie told him. "I dare you."

   "Ah, yes, a fun game of truth or dare," Eclipse mumbled. "You want your mommy to join us?"

   Stephanie's eyes widened at the sentence. But it only made her angrier.

   Quickly, Stephanie shot her power at Eclipse, knocking him back a bit. But he began to shoot Stephanie with shadow swords and regular shadows. She instantly dodged them all.

   Suddenly, one shadow wrapped around her neck like before, but even tighter. She struggled against Eclipse, wanting him to let go. He finally let her go, but wrapped another shadow around her midsection, making her arms stuck. She struggled, trying to break free of his hold, but could not.

   "You see what happens when the Adalina family tries to fight me?" Eclipse rumbled to the Titans. "They die."

   "Mom and Dad wouldn't have tried to fight you," Stephanie yelled at the enemy. "They would've tried to reason with you! Ah!" Stephanie grunted as Eclipse squeezed her more, making her unable to breathe.

   Eclipse swung a shadow around her neck, letting go of her waist. Black dots began to cloud Stephanie's vision. She tried to fight it, but to no avail. Eclipse was going to kill her. He was also going to kill Raven.

   _She's not strong enough,_ Stephanie thought. _She can't fight Eclipse alone. Even with the rest of the team helping her._

   Finally, Stephanie couldn't bear it anymore. Total darkness swept away her vision, making her feel as if she was once again blind.

   _I still don't regret it,_ Stephanie told herself before everything left her. _I don't regret kissing her._

   Stephanie gasped, flinging her eyes open. She jumped up, looking around. Only to her horror, she saw the Titans on the ground, very badly beaten. To her even greater horror, Stephanie saw Raven fighting Eclipse. But the bad guy had swung a shadow around her friend's throat, choking her.

   Stephanie didn't know what to do. She just froze. Then she remembered something.

   "The only way to defeat darkness is to shed the light on the night." Stephanie whispered. Anger eating at her, she flew up fast and used her powers to cut part of Eclipse's shadow off. He screamed in pain, while Raven fell to the ground, wide-eyed and gasping for breath.

   "That's it!" Stephanie shouted, realizing what she had to do. "The first time we got rid of Eclipse, the moon was out, so there was some light. Now the sun's out. Eclipse is a shadow, and no shadow can exist without light creating it!"

   Quickly flying to Raven, Stephanie made sure she was ok.

   "I'm fine, just gotta catch some breath," Raven assured.

   "I know how to kill Eclipse," Stephanie told her.

   "How?" Raven asked.

   "Eclipse is a shadow, right?" Stephanie asked her. "And shadows cannot exist without some light to create them, right?"

   "Your point?"

   "We need to literally block the sun. Eclipse will die then." Stephanie murmured.

   "Why did you kiss me?" Raven asked unexpectedly.

   "C-can we talk about this later?" Stephanie looked away awkwardly.

   "We kill Eclipse, and then we talk, ok?" Raven said.

   "Yeah." Stephanie agreed. Raven nodded, flying up. She used a force field over the sun, ultimately blocking it from the city. The only lights were in the city, but that was too far from Eclipse.

"No!" Eclipse yelled. "I can't exist without some light. Bring the sun back before I-"

" _You_ killed Danny," Stephanie interrupted, lighting her power on her hands so she could see the enemy. " _You_ killed Mom and Dad. _You_ killed Uncle Jay and Aunt Kassie! My whole family is dead because of _you_!" She yelled. "It's payback time. You killed my family? I’ll kill you." Stephanie quickly shot an immensive amount of power at Eclipse, hurting him to the extreme. Even if that was enough to kill him once and for all, blocking the sun would have definitely killed him.

   "S-Steph!" Raven called. "I-I can't keep this up... for much longer."

   "Then you can let down the force field!" Stephanie yelled back to her. "Eclipse is dead!"

   Instantly, Raven let to force field fall apart. Stephanie suddenly felt weak and fell to her knees. Raven quickly flew down to her.

   "You ok?" Raven asked.

   "I-I think," Stephanie whispered. "How are you?"

   "Fine," Raven said. Suddenly her eyes widened. "Beast Boy," She whispered. Both girls began to run to their friends.

   "Cyborg, Star!" Stephanie yelled. "You guys ok?"

   Luckily, the Titans were awake and alive. "Yeah," Cyborg responded. "W-where's Eclipse?"

   "Yes, where is this evil shadow?" Starfire asked, standing up with Cyborg and Stephanie.

   "He's dead," Stephanie announced. "For real this time. He's dead. He's dead. He's dead." Stephanie kept repeating, whispering it quieter each time. Tears suddenly ran down her face. "But that doesn't bring back my family."

   Cyborg moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, giving Stephanie comfort.

   "It may not bring your birth family back," Cyborg murmured. "But you still have us. We may not be the best, but-"

   "No!" Stephanie shouted. Realizing she sounded a bit harsh, she added, "No, you are the best. No matter what, I always have you guys around me to remind myself that I have the best family in the world."

 

 

   "Hey, we need to talk."

   It was three days since the successful defeat of Eclipse. Stephanie had been doing well with regaining her vision correctly. But when Raven told her they needed to talk, she knew what it was about.

   "Yeah, Rae?" Stephanie asked once they were out in the hallway, across from Raven's room.

   "Why did you kiss me that day?" Raven asked.

   "I-I..." Stephanie didn't know how to answer. "Rave, you know you're my best friend, and I love you as much as family but... Recently I've just... It's kinda... Uhm..."

   "Tell me." Raven demanded in her usual monotone voice.

   "I like you, ok?" Stephanie admitted. "I like you in that way. I don't know why I kissed you just then but it just dawned on me. What if I had died that day? Who knows when I would have seen you again? We all could've died, but honestly the only thing I cared about in that very moment was the very safety of- Hmph!" Stephanie widened her eyes as Raven pulled her forward and kissed her. They were holding onto each other as if they were about to fall off of a cliff. Feeling more than awkward, Stephanie actually kissed back. They stopped after a few seconds, their faces rose red.

   "I-I'm sorry," Raven apologized, her eyes wide. "I didn't mean to do that; I shouldn't have ever done that to you."

   "No, I-it's ok," Stephanie murmured. "It _is_ awkward, not gonna deny it, but I don't want to be anything more than friends, I swear!"

   "Then why did you kiss me three days ago?" Raven asked, completely curious.

   "Because, I-" Suddenly, Stephanie realized that she was lying to herself and to Raven. "I like you."

   "I do too," Raven barely whispered. She smiled softly at Stephanie, and then walked into her room without another word. Stephanie just quietly walked back to her room, blushing badly. She smiled, however, as she thought of her best friend.

   _Gotta love her,_ Stephanie thought. _Gotta love her._


End file.
